There's a story about Jake on the front page of today's Record. Links to the PDFs are below:
Page 1
Page 2
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Biking with Jake
I first met Jake soon after I joined RIM at the end of 1999. We got along very well and ended up becoming friends. Early on he started pestering me to start biking with him. It was clear he was very passionate about it! After a month or two of this he finally got me out to try it, and it turns out he was right about how fun it was. Thank you Jake!
There's a few things about biking with Jake that stick out in my mind. I started riding on an old beater bike of mine, and regardless of how many upgrades or new bikes I purchased he'd always have suggestions on how to spend lots more money on gear. He was extremely accomodating and encouraging to people he biked with (although the instant he got a little bit of competition it all went out the window!). I have many fond memories of biking with him out to Elora, at the Hydro Cut, in Gatineau and in France.
Eventually Jake's focus and talent meant that he was leaving me in the dust, so we didn't bike as much together. I then had to content myself enjoying his stories of trips to France, Italy and the US, as well as races. He was almost comically humble. He would never brag about his successes, to the point where it was almost impossible to get him to admit he had been the best rider on a particular day. If I hadn't known him well I wouldn't have any idea how accomplished he was!
New Conversation at: 25/03/2004 12:58:29 PM
[25 12:59 PM] yes to biking?
[25 12:59 PM] yes
[25 12:59 PM] yay yay yay!!
Brian.
There's a few things about biking with Jake that stick out in my mind. I started riding on an old beater bike of mine, and regardless of how many upgrades or new bikes I purchased he'd always have suggestions on how to spend lots more money on gear. He was extremely accomodating and encouraging to people he biked with (although the instant he got a little bit of competition it all went out the window!). I have many fond memories of biking with him out to Elora, at the Hydro Cut, in Gatineau and in France.
Eventually Jake's focus and talent meant that he was leaving me in the dust, so we didn't bike as much together. I then had to content myself enjoying his stories of trips to France, Italy and the US, as well as races. He was almost comically humble. He would never brag about his successes, to the point where it was almost impossible to get him to admit he had been the best rider on a particular day. If I hadn't known him well I wouldn't have any idea how accomplished he was!
New Conversation at: 25/03/2004 12:58:29 PM
[25 12:59 PM]
[25 12:59 PM]
[25 12:59 PM]
Brian.
Jake
Jake and I were more acquaintances than close friends, but I did have quite a few chats with him about bikes. He was always friendly, positive and good humoured.
One of my fondest memories of Jake is something that I didn't witness myself but was relayed to me by Brian Young: he towed Stella in a bike trailer up Mt. Ventoux, one of the toughest climbs in Europe!
In the past few days I think I've spent as much time talking to others about Jake and reading about him than I spent talking to Jake himself in the 7 years since I met him. This process has only served to magnify what a great guy he was and how much he'll be missed.
Ray Vander Veen
One of my fondest memories of Jake is something that I didn't witness myself but was relayed to me by Brian Young: he towed Stella in a bike trailer up Mt. Ventoux, one of the toughest climbs in Europe!
In the past few days I think I've spent as much time talking to others about Jake and reading about him than I spent talking to Jake himself in the 7 years since I met him. This process has only served to magnify what a great guy he was and how much he'll be missed.
Ray Vander Veen
Best men and names
I first met Jake in 1999 when I moved back to Canada to start in the BlackBerry team.
A group of us used to go for lunch together almost every day and discuss work, bicycling, cars, politics, love and life -- all the usual guy stuff. Jake was an amazingly thoughtful, considerate and wonderful part of that group -- so much so that when I got married in Toronto many years ago, I asked him to be one of my "best men" and to stand up with me.
We worked very closely together for 3 years before I decided to wander yet again. Since then we had remained in contact and visited on both sides of the pond when possible.
My world is smaller now.
Jake had made such a great impression on me that recently, in very different circumstances for me, a few miles, years, and relationships further on, I had proposed to my wife who is 6 months pregnant that Jake would be a great name for our son and I told Jake this:
-----Original Message-----
From: Jacob Sauer
Sent: March 31, 2007 4:23 PM
To: Michael Maguire
Subject: Re: hey!
Mike, no worries i understand how busy things can get!
[...]
And good names :)
all the best to Babettli and the rest of the gang...
cheers,
Jake
On 31-Mar-07, at 04:30, Michael Maguire wrote:
> Jake,
>
> [...]
>
> P.S.: I'm sure you're aware of the difficulty of choosing a name for a kid.
> We've gone through a few iterations already. Usually names never make it
> through "phase I" (the outright rejection phase by Babettli or me) based on
> whether we know annoying people with those names. Then comes "phase II"
> (casually passing it by our parents for approval). Although I'm sure it
> will be liable to change again, the current working titles (which definitely
> made it through "phase I" and "phase II" are "Giacomo" (In english he will
> be "Jack") or "Giacobo" ("Jacob" or "Jake").
There are still a few months to go and life is never certain, but my wife and I have decided that "Giacobbe" (Italian for "Jacob") is a great name.
A group of us used to go for lunch together almost every day and discuss work, bicycling, cars, politics, love and life -- all the usual guy stuff. Jake was an amazingly thoughtful, considerate and wonderful part of that group -- so much so that when I got married in Toronto many years ago, I asked him to be one of my "best men" and to stand up with me.
We worked very closely together for 3 years before I decided to wander yet again. Since then we had remained in contact and visited on both sides of the pond when possible.
My world is smaller now.
Jake had made such a great impression on me that recently, in very different circumstances for me, a few miles, years, and relationships further on, I had proposed to my wife who is 6 months pregnant that Jake would be a great name for our son and I told Jake this:
-----Original Message-----
From: Jacob Sauer
Sent: March 31, 2007 4:23 PM
To: Michael Maguire
Subject: Re: hey!
Mike, no worries i understand how busy things can get!
[...]
And good names :)
all the best to Babettli and the rest of the gang...
cheers,
Jake
On 31-Mar-07, at 04:30, Michael Maguire wrote:
> Jake,
>
> [...]
>
> P.S.: I'm sure you're aware of the difficulty of choosing a name for a kid.
> We've gone through a few iterations already. Usually names never make it
> through "phase I" (the outright rejection phase by Babettli or me) based on
> whether we know annoying people with those names. Then comes "phase II"
> (casually passing it by our parents for approval). Although I'm sure it
> will be liable to change again, the current working titles (which definitely
> made it through "phase I" and "phase II" are "Giacomo" (In english he will
> be "Jack") or "Giacobo" ("Jacob" or "Jake").
There are still a few months to go and life is never certain, but my wife and I have decided that "Giacobbe" (Italian for "Jacob") is a great name.
Two worlds...
I first met Jake electronically as J. Sauer, a name and part of a legacy for me to decipher in my new job at RIM 8 years ago. Little did I know that the name belonged to the lanky, not quite yet graduated, grinning lad who welcomed me over the cube wall. Throughout that first year, Jake would answer my questions with courtesy and patience. He always seemed to have a smile on his face and sense of style that allowed him to handle stressful situations with grace.
One day, amid the exhilarating chaos, I looked up from my monitor to find the tables turned: Jake was asking me a question...about wheels...bike wheels and where were good places to ride.
Riding in the Hydrocut a few weeks later, the leanest and possibly fastest dog on the planet, blurred across the path in front of me and streaked off into the woods. This was followed by a sharp whistle and the call of a familiar voice as the owner pedalled up behind. 'Don't worry, she doesn't bite.' to which I replied... 'Jake?'. This time I was a little quicker in putting two and two together as I learned that the owner of this speedy dog could only belong to one of the most talented, and enthusiatic cyclists in the region. From then on, I came to know Jake more as a cyclist than through work as we had both moved on to different areas but shared the passion of two wheels.
During a 'vacation' to 'hills' of South Carolina spring 2005, I further witnessed the depth of Jake's passion and flare for cycling as the guys would suit up each morning for the day's punishment, er, I mean, ride. But that year no one could touch Jake as each morning he would emerge dressed in a different full kit of each of his favourite teams. Later he would sit and meticulously clean his bike, the smile still on his face as he and the guys would joke about who-beat-who to the top that day. The following year he missed the South Carolina boot camp for a set of very important reasons: Alex, Stella and Mount Ventoux.
Jake always had a word of encouragement as he would race by me much the same way he had that day in the forest or as he and Alex with baby Stella would cheer myself and many others from the sidelines. Listening to his teammates talk of 'how can we work together to get Jake to the front for the sprint' speaks volumes to how talented and respected Jake was in the local racing community.
Tabi Ferguson
One day, amid the exhilarating chaos, I looked up from my monitor to find the tables turned: Jake was asking me a question...about wheels...bike wheels and where were good places to ride.
Riding in the Hydrocut a few weeks later, the leanest and possibly fastest dog on the planet, blurred across the path in front of me and streaked off into the woods. This was followed by a sharp whistle and the call of a familiar voice as the owner pedalled up behind. 'Don't worry, she doesn't bite.' to which I replied... 'Jake?'. This time I was a little quicker in putting two and two together as I learned that the owner of this speedy dog could only belong to one of the most talented, and enthusiatic cyclists in the region. From then on, I came to know Jake more as a cyclist than through work as we had both moved on to different areas but shared the passion of two wheels.
During a 'vacation' to 'hills' of South Carolina spring 2005, I further witnessed the depth of Jake's passion and flare for cycling as the guys would suit up each morning for the day's punishment, er, I mean, ride. But that year no one could touch Jake as each morning he would emerge dressed in a different full kit of each of his favourite teams. Later he would sit and meticulously clean his bike, the smile still on his face as he and the guys would joke about who-beat-who to the top that day. The following year he missed the South Carolina boot camp for a set of very important reasons: Alex, Stella and Mount Ventoux.
Jake always had a word of encouragement as he would race by me much the same way he had that day in the forest or as he and Alex with baby Stella would cheer myself and many others from the sidelines. Listening to his teammates talk of 'how can we work together to get Jake to the front for the sprint' speaks volumes to how talented and respected Jake was in the local racing community.
Tabi Ferguson
Friday, May 11, 2007
Working with Jake
Jake and I came to our work at RIM at nearly the same time; he was fresh out of school, and I had hopped around a bunch of other companies in the area before settling in at RIM.
Over our first year at the company, we worked within a team that fashioned the first "new" set of applications that became the modern BlackBerry: all built in Java. Jake's area of responsibility was building our new set of public application APIs and mine was describing them.
I worked closely with Jake for about four years, and during that time I always found him to be courteous, generous, thoughtful, humorous, and exuberant. I'm sure there were times that we didn't see eye to eye, but I honestly can't ever remember quarrelling with him.
My fondest memory of Jake is attending the meetings that he chaired: he hated wasting time in meetings, and so he picked up everyone in the room on his back and shuddered forward at exhilarating speed. If you hesitated, you were lost. I think Jake got the same kind of joy from moving his meetings along that he got from free-wheeling down a steep hill with the wind in his grin.
Jake and I had similar backgrounds and upbringings so, despite the difference in our ages, I always felt a deep understanding for the kind of person Jake was. Like everyone else, Jake had his shortcomings, but those who knew him must have surely come to the conclusion that he was a very good man.
Over our first year at the company, we worked within a team that fashioned the first "new" set of applications that became the modern BlackBerry: all built in Java. Jake's area of responsibility was building our new set of public application APIs and mine was describing them.
I worked closely with Jake for about four years, and during that time I always found him to be courteous, generous, thoughtful, humorous, and exuberant. I'm sure there were times that we didn't see eye to eye, but I honestly can't ever remember quarrelling with him.
My fondest memory of Jake is attending the meetings that he chaired: he hated wasting time in meetings, and so he picked up everyone in the room on his back and shuddered forward at exhilarating speed. If you hesitated, you were lost. I think Jake got the same kind of joy from moving his meetings along that he got from free-wheeling down a steep hill with the wind in his grin.
Jake and I had similar backgrounds and upbringings so, despite the difference in our ages, I always felt a deep understanding for the kind of person Jake was. Like everyone else, Jake had his shortcomings, but those who knew him must have surely come to the conclusion that he was a very good man.
45 inches
45 inches is the name of the blog Jake set up to keep friends & family informed during their trip to France. I remember one of the things that struck me while I was reading it was how unbelievably good the writing was. Most engineers can't write worth a damn (this paragraph is living proof; it has taken me about half an hour). Just another one of Jake's many talents. If you haven't seen it before, check it out. It's a great read with some beautiful photos.
Jake Becomes A Father
In the weeks prior to Stella's birth, I did my best to make sure Jake knew what he was in for (I may have exaggerated a little :-). Here's the e-mail I got from him on the joyous day:
-----Original Message-----
From: Jacob Sauer
To: Sean Wilson
Sent: Mon Aug 01 20:51:43 2005
Subject: The bun has arrived
today at 4:30pm, home birth, 6lb11oz. Girl. Stella. (no other names picked yet).
oh. my. god.
jake
Celebrating Jake
This blog is a public space to collect and share memories of our good friend Jake Sauer.
Please feel free to contribute photos, quotes, emails, whatever.
email one of the addresses below if you would like to be added as an author
sean.donna@gmail.com,
ray.vanderveen@gmail.com,
garyklassen@gmail.com
Please feel free to contribute photos, quotes, emails, whatever.
email one of the addresses below if you would like to be added as an author
sean.donna@gmail.com,
ray.vanderveen@gmail.com,
garyklassen@gmail.com
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